Privacy Policy

Last Updated: October 2026

HelloBicester ("we", "our", or "us") operates the website hellobicester.co.uk and provides the HelloBicester community newsletter. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal information when you subscribe to our newsletter, visit our website, send us details for the business directory, or buy featured placement.

We are committed to protecting your privacy in compliance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Information We Collect

We collect information about you in two ways: directly from your input, and automatically through site analytics.

  • Directly Provided Information: When you subscribe to our newsletter, we collect your email address and, optionally, your name. When you contact us using our contact forms or emails, we collect your name, email address, subject, and the contents of your message.
  • Business Listing Submissions: When you claim, add or correct a directory listing, we collect your name, your role in the business, your email address and phone number, and the business details and photos you send. Your own contact details are used to check the submission and reply to you. They are not published unless they are also the business's public contact details.
  • Featured Placement Payments: If you buy featured placement, Stripe takes the payment and tells us your name, email address, billing address, what you bought and whether the payment succeeded. We never receive your card number.
  • Information From Public Sources: Directory listings include business names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, websites and opening hours that the business has already published. For a sole trader this can be information about an individual.
  • Automatically Collected Information: When you visit our website, we use Google Analytics 4 to collect details about your visit, if you accept analytics cookies, including your IP address (anonymised), browser type, operating system, device details, page views, and how you interact with our site. We do not link this information back to your email address.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

  • To deliver our weekly community newsletter (Friday delivery).
  • To reply to your enquiries sent via contact forms or emails.
  • To publish and maintain the business directory, check that a listing submission is genuine, and tell a business when someone has asked to change its listing.
  • To provide featured placement, including billing, renewals and cancellation.
  • To monitor and improve our website performance, user experience, and newsletter content using analytics.
  • To prevent fraudulent signups and ensure the security of our platform.
  • To comply with legal obligations.

We will never sell or rent your email address or personal information to third parties.

3. Legal Basis for Processing

Under the UK GDPR, our legal bases for processing your information are:

  • Consent: You give us explicit consent to send you the newsletter by signing up via our subscription forms. You can withdraw your consent at any time by clicking the "unsubscribe" link in any email.
  • Consent (analytics): Analytics cookies are only set if you accept them on our cookie banner.
  • Legitimate Interests: We publish business contact details that are already public, and check and process listing submissions, based on our legitimate interest in running an accurate local directory. A business can ask us to correct or remove its listing at any time.
  • Contract: To provide featured placement you have bought, and to respond to direct requests you make (e.g., replying to an email enquiry).
  • Legal Obligation: To keep payment and tax records and comply with other legal requirements.

4. Data Storage and Data Processors

To operate our website and newsletter services, we use trusted third-party service providers (Data Processors) who process data on our behalf:

  • Newsletter provider: We use a specialist email newsletter service to manage our subscription list and deliver emails. It securely stores your email address and subscription preferences, and tracks email opens/clicks to help us improve.
  • Website hosting provider: Our hosting provider processes basic web traffic details to deliver site files quickly and securely, and to protect against malicious traffic.
  • Google Analytics 4: Processes anonymised website usage statistics to help us monitor performance.
  • Stripe: Takes payment for featured placement and manages the subscription, including receipts and cancellation.
  • Resend: Delivers the emails our forms generate: your contact form message, your listing submission and any photos attached to it, and payment notifications.
  • Content storage: Our website's content is kept in a private, access-controlled repository with a specialist provider. A listing submission is stored there as a proposed change, with the submitter's contact details, until we have reviewed it.

We keep listing submissions and related emails for as long as the listing is live and for up to two years afterwards, and payment records for six years as tax law requires.

You can ask us for the names of the providers we currently use by emailing [email protected].

5. Cookies

We use basic cookies to store your cookie consent preferences and to support Google Analytics. For full details on the cookies we use and how to manage them, please see our Cookie Policy.

6. Your Rights

Under UK data protection laws, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:

  • Right of Access: You can ask us for copies of your personal data.
  • Right to Rectification: You can ask us to correct information you think is inaccurate.
  • Right to Erasure (Right to be Forgotten): You can ask us to erase your personal data in certain circumstances.
  • Right to Restriction: You can ask us to restrict the processing of your data in certain circumstances.
  • Right to Object: You can object to our processing of your personal data in certain circumstances.
  • Right to Data Portability: You can request that we transfer your data to another organisation or to you.

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us at [email protected]. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.

7. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, please contact our data coordinator at:

Email: [email protected]